Conventionally, for black-and-white printing papers and color printing papers, silver halide photosensitive layers and protective layers are provided on reflective supports (such as baryta paper and resin-coated paper). These reflective supports are provided by using white pigment of a fine powder of a transparent inorganic material having a high refractive index, dispersed in a plastic film or by milling the pigment together with a sizing agent and white base paper.
JP-A-49-33783 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined Japanese patent application") discloses a photographic material having a layer of mixed microcapsules containing silver halide emulsions with different light wavelength sensitivity regions coated onto an aluminum support with a surface having a metallic gloss, namely, a mirror surface. JP-A-62-21147 discloses a color printing paper comprising a support comprising a non-directional frosted surface of metal foil having provided thereon a resin layer.
Supports having surfaces with mirror surface reflectance and secondary diffuse reflection properties, as defined, for example, in the first paragraph of Chapter 18 of Shikisai Kagaku Handobukku (The Handbook of Color Science, The Japanese Color Study Association, 5th edition, 1985, published by Tokyo University Publishing), are disclosed in JP-A-61-210346, JP-A-63-118154, JP-A-63-24247, JP-A-63-24251, JP-A-63-24252, JP-A-63-24253, JP-A-63-24255 and JP-A-63-70844.